South Carolina Code 33-56-120. Misrepresentations prohibited
(B) A charitable organization, professional fundraising counsel, or professional solicitor shall not use or exploit the fact of registration so as to lead the public to believe that the registration in any way constitutes an endorsement or approval by the State. However, the use of the following statement is not considered a prohibited exploitation: "Registered with the Secretary of State as required by law". Registration does not imply endorsement of a public solicitation for contributions.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 33-56-120
- Charitable organization: means a person, as defined in item (7):
(i) determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be a tax exempt organization pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(ii) that is or holds itself out to be established for any benevolent, social welfare, scientific, educational, environmental, philanthropic, humane, patriotic, public health, civic, or other eleemosynary purpose, or for the benefit of law enforcement personnel, firefighters, or other persons who protect the public safety; or
(iii) that employs a charitable appeal as the basis of solicitation or an appeal that suggests that there is a charitable purpose to a solicitation, or that solicits or obtains contributions solicited from the public for a charitable purpose. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20 - Charitable purpose: means a purpose described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or a benevolent, social welfare, scientific, educational, environmental, philanthropic, humane, patriotic, public health, civic, or other eleemosynary objective, including an objective of an organization of law enforcement personnel, firefighters, or other persons who protect the public safety if a stated purpose of the solicitations includes a benefit to a person outside the actual service membership of the organization. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20
- Contribution: means the promise, grant, or pledge of money, credit, assistance, or property of any kind or value. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20
- Person: means an individual, an organization, a trust, a foundation, a group, an association, a partnership, a corporation, a society, or a combination of them. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20
- Professional fundraising counsel: means a person that for a fixed rate of compensation plans, conducts, manages, prepares materials for, advises, or acts as a consultant, directly or indirectly, in connection with soliciting contributions for or on behalf of a charitable organization, but that actually does not solicit, receive, or collect contributions as a part of these services. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20
- Professional solicitor: means a person that, for monetary or other consideration, solicits contributions for or on behalf of a charitable organization, either personally or through its agents, servants, or employees or through agents, servants, or employees who are specially employed by or for a charitable organization, who are engaged in the solicitation of contributions under the direction of that person. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20
- solicitation: means to request and the request for money, credit, property, financial assistance, or other thing of value, or a portion of it, to be used for a charitable purpose or to benefit a charitable organization. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(C) In connection with the solicitation of contributions or the sale of goods or services for charitable purposes, a person shall not represent to or mislead a person by any manner, means, practice, or device to believe that another person sponsors or endorses the solicitation of contributions, sale of goods or services for charitable purposes, or approves of the charitable purposes or a charitable organization connected with it when the other person has not given written consent to the use of his name for these purposes. A member of the board of directors or trustees of a charitable organization or another person who has agreed either to serve or to participate in a voluntary capacity in the campaign is considered to have given his consent to the use of his name in the campaign.
(D) A person shall not make any representation that he is soliciting contributions for or on behalf of a charitable organization or shall not use or display any emblem, device, or printed matter belonging to or associated with a charitable organization for the purpose of soliciting or inducing contributions from the public without first being authorized to do so by the charitable organization.
(E) For the purpose of soliciting contributions from a person in this State, a person shall not use the name of another person except that of an officer, a director, or a trustee of the charitable organization by or for which contributions are solicited, without the written consent of the other person. A person is considered to have used the name of another person for the purpose of soliciting contributions if the latter person’s name is listed on any stationery, advertisement, brochure, or correspondence in or by which a contribution is solicited by or on behalf of a charitable organization or if his name is listed or referred to in connection with a request for a contribution as one who has contributed to, sponsored, or endorsed the charitable organization or its activities.
(F) Nothing contained in subsection (E) prevents the publication of names of contributors, without their written consent, in an annual or other periodic report issued by a charitable organization for the purpose of reporting on its operations and affairs to its membership or for the purpose of reporting contributions to contributors.
(G) A person shall not knowingly or wilfully use a misleading practice or device to solicit the contribution or sale of goods or services for a charitable purpose in connection with a declared state of emergency or disaster as described in § 39-5-147. Penalties provided in this chapter are cumulative of and in addition to those provided in § 39-5-147.